Winter's with Jack Frost
by poohmama
Summary: OC: Kat was Jack Frost's best friend before he became Jack Frost. After he dies and she finds out about his new way of life,a new feeling for her best friend starts to emerge. This is a story I wrote for my roommate (she's the person Kat is based off of). Hope everyone enjoys it as much as she does :)
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

People always wonder when I tell them I still believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and everything else that we stop believing in when we're all 10. 20 year old girls don't usually don't go around believing in the magic of Christmas and layout cookies for Ol' Saint Nick (He prefers to be called North, but that's besides my point). But I wasn't always like this. My best friend Jack was the festive one. He was always dragging me around to pick out Christmas trees and caroling. Starting snowball fights and going sledding...

Wow...

Thinking about it now, things were different back then...

I was different back then.

Before my friend Jack became Jack _Frost._

* * *

"Come on Kat, come out just for an hour...or so."

"Jack, whenever you say '_or so'_ I don't get home till at least midnight!"

"Kat, scouts honor, only an hour."

"And, wasn't that you that got kicked out of the boy scouts?"

Jack was trying to convince me to take a skate with his sister at Cedar Lake. It was the first day of winter break and he wanted to celebrate by taking a skate on the newly frozen town lake. You might think that's the most boring thing to do for the first day of vacation, but in Cedarville, New Jersey... it's the best thing in the world. Taking the first skate on the lake represents the first of many skating sessions, snowball fights, and everything else kids loved to do in the winter before they grow up.

"Not funny.." Jack replied in a sarcastic tone.

"But seriously, I don't think you guys should go."

"And why not?" Jack argued.

Jack hated being told what to do. He's been like that since we were kids. He was always the one who questioned authority.

"Because, the lake just got frozen. It probably isn't 100% ready for people to skate on it yet."

Jack sighed in frustration.

"Oh my God Kat, your such a wuss." Jack said. I could totally hear his smile as he said the words.

He knew I hated being called a _wuss_. It was how he always got me to do what he wanted. He would call me a wuss, I would do what he wanted to prove that I wasn't, and then in the end I would just regret even falling for his trick. But not this time. I was gonna stand my ground.

"Oh no, no, no. Not this time. I'm not falling for the whole 'wuss' trick."

"Darn it." Jack said under his breath knowing he had been found out. Jack sighed again. Not in frustration, but in disappointment.

"Come on, Kat I really want you to go." Oh, he was begging now, he must be serious. I was almost going to agree to go, but something inside told me not to.

"Sorry Jack I can't anyways, I have to help my mom out at the studio today."

My mom was an artist and owned her own art studio in town and would paint various pieces for people and businesses around town. She says, when I get old enough I can take ownership of the studio since I've inherited some her awesome drawing talents. Though, owning my own studio in my hometown would be nice, I would love to get out of this small town to go to college and get a degree in art. Yea I know, small town girl with big town dreams; Sounds like a Disney movie. Yuck.

"Alright," Jack said sounding as if he'd given up "just come over my place whenever you're done and we can hang out."

"Yea sure. Call you later okay?"

"Sure." Jack said sounding disappointed.

He always acted like a little kid when he didn't get his way, which I found heartbreaking, adorable and humorous all at the same time. It's funny because, even though we're gonna graduate from high school next year, he still acts the same way like when we were 6. As we said our goodbyes to each other and hung up our cell phones, I sat up from my bed and looked around my bedroom walls at the various art pieces.

I've been drawing since I could pick up a pen. Well, I guess you can't really call them drawings. More like what I call abstract art. If you were to squint your eyes and think really hard, you could try to figure out what I was trying to draw. I didn't actually start getting good until I was around 10. I would draw myself, friends and family in different forms.

As I look up on my wall I see how much I've grown as an artist. I drew my mother as a superhero when I was 11; I drew Jack as a troublemaking kid when I was 16, and myself being the rope in a tug of rope game at 17. It's the darkest of all my drawings. You don't see the faces of the people playing, you just see my arms being stretched and pulled by 2 groups of people. Who those people are, I'm not sure yet. My face is in agony and strain as fingernails dig into my skin. Tears fall down my face and my cheeks are beet red from crying so much, so you can tell I've been part of this game for a while. Whenever Jack comes over and see's it, he tries to make me take it down because he doesn't like to see me in that much pain, even if it is just a drawing.

As I stand up and look out my bedroom window, I'm tempted to call Jack back and tell him I'll meet him at the lake. The sight of freshly fallen snow on in a suburban afternoon as got to be one of the best views out there. Because, not only do you see the beauty that Mother Nature can give us, but you can see kids playing with each other, dad's shoveling snow off their cars, moms making sure their kids are prepared to go in the snow; It's everything that comes to mind when you think of the winter.

I put on my snow boots, jacket and scarf and grab my car keys. As I step outside my house, I see my next door neighbor Jaime Finnick playing with his friends pulling a sled toward the park on the corner. I overhear them talking about what they hope Santa gets them for Christmas this year. I smile as I remember teasing Jack, saying he was only gonna get coal for Christmas because of all the mischief he always got into. He hated me for that, but I always got a kick out of it.

I get into my car, and as I drive toward my mom's studio, I get lots of waves from people around the neighborhood. Not only because my mom is very well known for her work, but because this is a small town. One of those towns, where the school teachers get together and hang out with the mothers of the kids. The owner of the grocery practically knows everyone, and everyone expects you to take whatever career your parents did.

As I pull in front of my mom's studio, I look at the sign _Harleen's Canvas, _and smile. I give my mom so much respect since she's almost 40 and she's living her dream. As I step inside, I can't help but look at her previous work on the walls. My mom started drawing at 6, like me, and she started drawing comics. Superheros and supervillians, both original and from different comic series. My grandmother was the one who introduced her to comics actually. Since my mom was quite an avid reader, my grandmother suggested my mom read Batman comics since it involved drawing, and one of the villains shared a name with her. My mom basically fell in love with comics after that. Although she doesn't draw comic art anymore, sometimes I'll catch her with a comic in hand.

As I stare at my favorite piece from my mom, herself back to back with Harleyquinn in costume looking like they are ready to cause trouble, I hear my mom's voice from the back room

"Kat? You there?"

"Yea, it's me mom."

"Come here and see this new piece I'm working on."

I walk to the back room where my mom works on her new pieces. It's full of bucket's of paint and sketches on the walls. Also on one of the walls, there is a mural that says "What I do with a paintbrush is my _superpower_"I look at my mom's new painting. It's a family portrait of Robinson family, the most wealthy family in Cedarville. I can tell by their signature blonde hair, blue eyes, single raised eyebrows. They aren't really nice people. I saw them come in my mom's studio for an event once, and they walked around like they were gracing us with their presence. Jack says that Tiffany, their daughter, sucks the fun out of everything. That's why he doesn't hang out with her.

I can't see why my mom would choose to do a painting like this. I mean, the portrait is beautiful, but it doesn't seem like, she _enjoyed_ painting it.

"Oh, the Robinsons? Didn't know you did work for them." I say as my mother continues to paint the lips on Tifffany's mischievous grin.

"Yea, I was actually surprised when they asked me to do a piece for them. I thought they would go into the city to get this sort of piece done."

"Well, your awesome. Of course they want you to do it." When I say this my mom smiles with a smile.

I don't see why my mom decided to do this kind of work for people who look down on her. Actually, I don't see why she's doing this kind of work anyway. Like it's good, really good actually, but not _her._

"Mom?" I ask her as she continues to paint.

"Yea?"

"Do you think there's any chance of you going back to drawing the stuff you used to do?"

My mom laughs out loud at the idea. She looks at me and sees that I'm being serious.

"Oh, umm...because people around here aren't interested in cartoons and comics, Kat." She frowns slightly as if she's had to accept it herself.

"But, there are other people that _are_ mom." I say in a tone that surprised me and my mom.

"If you just go online and post your work, maybe someone will buy it."

"Kat, I can't create a piece because of a _chance _someone will buy it."

I sigh. I know this conversation isn't going to go anywhere.

My dad was also a comic buff, so when he was alive, he would help inspire my mom for different comic driven paintings. They would spend hours together in the study sketching different designs for characters. When he was killed in a hit and run, 5 years ago, it all hurt us all hard. Especially my mom. She stopped painting completely because it reminded her of my dad. A couple of years ago she started painting again, but it was not at all like the work she did before. She did portraits, scenery pieces, and even created logos for local businesses. I guess it was to keep the memories away.

"You know, never mind mom." I say with a lighthearted smile, dropping the topic.

I could tell my mom was still hurting, even though she smiled as she painted the Robinsons.

She cleared her throat.

"Oh Kat, before I forget. I need you to drive over to the Cooper's and drop off that portrait."

She motioned her head toward rectangular object about 4 feet tall, that looked like frame wrapped in wrapping paper.

"Alright, I'll be back in like 30 minutes." I say as I grab the frame. As I walk to the exit, I hear my mom's phone ring. She answers it.

"Hello? Oh hey Jacqueline what's up- whoa, whoa..slow down"

Jacqueline was Jack's mom. My mom and Jack's mom were college roommates turned besties. So, it was kinda destined for me and Jack to end up friends I guess. I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation since I had walked out to my car. I carefully put the painting in the backseat of my car and sat in the driver's seat. As I was about to put the keys in the ignition, my mom ran out of the studio. She still had her blue apron she used to paint in stained with lots of browns and yellows. She had her cell phone in one hand and her car keys in the other. She came over to the driver's side and opened the door.

"Come on Katherine, we have to go...now." She said in the serious voice she didn't use often. I knew it had to be serious. She used my full name.

"Where? What happened?" I asked.

My mom looked like she didn't want to give me the news and that worried me. She sighed.

"We're going to the hospital. Jack fell through the ice at Cedar Lake and his mom doesn't think he's gonna make it."


	2. Chapter 2

So he's gone. Jack is _dead.  
_  
God, it's still hard to me to say that.

We were supposed to grow old together, make our children become best friends, and buy houses next door to each other. Now, none of that is possible.

It was really hard going to his funeral. Seeing his mom cry her heart out that her first born is gone, while Greg, Jack's step dad, looked like he'd rather be somewhere else. Jack always hated Greg ever since he started dating his mom. At first, I thought it was because of the whole 'Man of the House' syndrome, but I found out a couple of months ago it was way more than that.

I remember the day that Jack barged into my room and shut the door and the first thing that had came out of his mouth was,

"That bastard hit my mom."

It took everything I had to convince Jack not to bash Greg's face in. Once he calmed down, he told me what it was like distracting his little sister from the arguments that constantly happened outside their bedroom doors. He played games with her or watched a movie with her. He told me how he had to comfort his mom after Greg had left. Wiping the tears from her eyes, holding her, giving her words of encouragement. Jack was pissed because he knew she would just take him back. They had a love/hate relationship.

Now that he's gone, who was gonna be the one to comfort his mom and be there for his sister?

After the funeral, I went straight up to my room. I hated funerals. I hate how it made you think of every conversation you had with the person. All the arguments, which now seem meaningless, you wish you could apologize for. And you always think of the last conversation with them.

_"Come on, Kat I really want you to go."_

It's true that if I would've went I would've probably had the same fate as Jack, but I think I didn't push for him not to go enough. I should have planned for us to do something else.

I stare at my ceiling at what feels like hours. I look at my wall of art. I look at my 'Tug of War' piece and my drawings of Jack. I remember him standing by my wall wanting to take down my 'Tug of War'. I get up from my bed and rush over to the pull and snatch down the drawing. But I don't stop there. I grasp for more and more as I tear down my pieces hoping the memories will stop flowing in, but they don't. Tears stream my face like a river. Out of energy, I sit down on the floor and take in what I had just done. My drawings are everywhere and on the edge of the pile I see the 'Tug of War' drawing and take a long look at it. I finally realize what the painting means. I've always felt torn between staying home and going away for college. Leaving my family and Jack. Now, I've made my decision on what I must do.

I grab the drawing and rip it to pieces.

****

My senior year was a blur. I barely even remember walking the stage at my graduation. It was hard not meeting with Jack during lunch to complain about our teachers. Or picking him up from home so I could drive him from school. I just wanted to leave school and leave Cedar. I wanted to leave all the memories behind. The good and the bad.

I got accepted to The New Jersey Art Academy my senior year and left for college right after graduation. It was time for me to start a clean slate. My first semester started out great: I had an awesome roommate, my classes weren't too difficult and I had actually stuck to a workout plan for once.

When Christmas break rolled around I wasn't too excited and it was really apparent. This would be the first time I'd be leaving for home. Thanksgiving wasn't a big thing for me and my mom so I stayed at school. But, as for Christmas, that was my moms favorite holiday. I was slowly packing up my belongings as my roommate, Marina eagerly packed hers. She blasted Disney music as she took down her Disney character posters. Saying she was a child at heart was a mass understatement.

"So you excited to go back home? Cedar right?" She asked me.

"Yea I guess." I say in a unsure manner. How could I say "_No, I wish I never had to go back to my hometown"_ ?

"Your tone sounds _very_ convincing." She said jokingly.

I laugh lightheartedly at her sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not looking forward to the drive back home that's all." I say. Which really wasn't a lie. On the drive home I had to think about how I would react to seeing people from my mom wouldn't be that bad, we talked every week while I was in school. But everyone else would be a different story. I would have to see Jacqueline, Jack's sister Sally, and all the children in the neighborhood playing outside. It would just remind me of that fateful day Jack drowned.

As I drive through my neighborhood I drive past Jack's house. The first thing I notice is that it doesn't have Christmas lights up yet. If Jack were alive, they would've been up right after Thanksgiving. Maybe his mom can't find the strength of setting up the lights without him this year.

It's 9 o' clock in the evening when I pull into my mom's driveway. My mom has all the bells and whistles with the Christmas lights and decoration. I grab my luggage and I walk up to the front door. I take a deep breath as I put the key in the lock.

"_Be happy. This is a happy time. She's gonna be happy to see me. Be happy." _I say to myself. I turn the handle and open the front door.

"Mom?" I call. There is no answer. I hoped that she wouldn't be home so I could get my head together. The 2 hour drive wasn't long enough to prepare myself for the waterfall of memories going through my mind. It's easy to say _Yea, I can handle it_ until you're actually in the situation. And hell, I'm in this situation. I would rather be anywhere else than this God forsaken town.

"Mom are you home?" I call again and, to my dismay, I hear footsteps.

"Kat?"

My mom comes around the corner down the hallway, and she has a huge smile on her face. I almost forgot how much I missed her. As she came toward me with open arms, I could help but run up to her and hug her. In this moment I'm 8 years old again hugging my mom after a long day at school.

"How was your drive?" she asks, but I'm so stuck in the moment, I don't hear her.

"Huh?" I say as I am hurtled back to reality.

"How was your drive?" my mom repeats her question as we break our hug.

"Oh it was alright I guess, no problems"

"That's good. Well you can get your stuff up to your room and I'll finish dinner."

"Alright" I say as I turn and grab my 2 huge luggage bags. When I get to the stairway I can see into the living room where my mom has set up the Christmas tree, with a few gifts under it. I remember Jack would always drag me downstairs to help set up the Christmas decorations every year. I slowly walk upstairs to my room, and my open the door to my room. My wall is no longer filled with my art work. I didn't throw them away, but simply put them in the top drawer of my bedside dresser. Tired and drained, I just lay on my bed and rest my eyes.

_"Okay, I can do this." _I think

"_3 weeks will go by so fast. And I can get out of here-"_

"Kat!"

My thoughts are interrupted by my mother.

"Yea?!" I yell down with my eyes still closed.

"Can you go down to Gerald's and get some more vegetable oil?! I ran out!" she asks.

At this moment, I _really _don't feel like leaving the house, but I think it would be good for me. This'll keep me from being like a hermit crab all winter break.

"Alright, I'll leave in a few minutes!"

"Thanks hun!"

I take a few breathers, grab my backpack and put my wallet in it. I head down to the car and start the drive to Gerald's liquor store. His place is pretty close, but where it's located is kind of eerie at night. It sits on the corner near the end of a long line of family owned businesses. His is the only one that stays open until 11pm. When I get the store, I am annoyed at the parking signs which say:

_No parking from 9pm to 4am on Friday's due to street cleaning._

For this reason, I'm forced to park a few minutes down from the store and walk. The air is pretty cold, but it hasn't started snowing, which I'm grateful for. As I'm a few stores from Gerald's I walk past a group of 3 guys. I don't even look their direction because it would just make them think I'm interested. But I'm not. I just want my vegetable oil. I stare at the ground and I just see their shoes. Snow boots to be exact. I can smell the stench of cigarette smoke as I walk by them.__

"Please don't say anything, please don't say anything, please don't say anything. Please" I repeat in my head.

"Good evening." I hear one of guys say. I roll my eyes and continue to walk.

"Oh you weren't raised to speak when spoken to?" he says. I can hear the smirk on his face.

"Good evening." I say with bitterness. I go into Gerald's and see Gerald himself sitting at the front counter doing a crossword puzzle. He looks up when he hears the bell from the door. He adjusts his glasses and smiles slightly.

"Is that Kathy?" He says. He's been calling me Kathy since I was a little girl. Back when he had a full head of hair. My mom comes in here all the time because he's so friendly.

"Yea. It's me." I say with a smile.

"Well come and give me a hug. Don't act like a stranger." He walks around the counter and I walk up to him and embrace him in a hug.

"What? How long has it been since you've come in here?" He asks as we break our hug.

"About 8 months." I say with shame.

"Wow. Has it been that long? That's right, that was around the accident with-" he stops his sentence as he can read the pain that's on my face.

"Never mind. So what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Oh, umm...I'm just here to pick up some cooking oil for my mom."

"Well alright, you know where it is. And you know what? It's on me. As a welcome back gift."

"Aww..thanks Gerald. Your awesome!" I say genuinely thankful. He's always been a nice guy. I think he's always thought of me as a granddaughter figure.

"No problem. Just promise me you'll visit me more often." He says.

"Of course I will. I'll see you later!" I say with a wave as I walk out the door.

"Alright, be safe!" he says as the door closes behind me.

Seeing Gerald was pretty bittersweet. It was awesome seeing him again after so long, but it sucks how I treated him during the whole Jack fiasco. And I know it wasn't just him that I did it to, but to everyone at school, my neighbors, and even my mom probably. I just shut myself from everyone and stayed in my room until I moved out. Me coming back could be the time for me to fix some relationships that I've damaged.

Now, I'm getting close to those sketchy guys again, and my joy that came from my talk with Gerald is now gone. Once again, I look down at my feet and even put my earphones in to pretend I'm listening to music. I walk past them and feel satisfied. Until, I feel like someone is following me. I turn around and sure enough, I see one of the guys are following me. I take off my earphones.

"Yes?" I say.

"Well, we saw you walking alone and we thought it'd be safer if we'd walk with you."

"Oh no thank you." I try to say in a polite tone with my fake smile.

"Well alright, well a few of my buddies wanted me to come over and ask you to chill with us for a bit. You seem like a cool chick."

Now, I might've said yes if this wasn't around 30 year old guy that looks homeless. And if it wasn't 9 o' clock at night. And if this guy wasn't staring at me like I was fresh meat.

"No thanks. I have to get home." I say as I turn around. As I'm walking away, I feel a hand on my shoulder which forces me to turn around. This guy is right in front of me and his breath smells like this guy has had cigarettes for dinner and alcohol to drink on the side.

"Come on hon, just for a little bit eh?"

Just then, snow started to fall. What was weird was not how sudden it started to fall, but the intensity of how it started to fall. The wind started to blow and it looked like it was about to be a storm. All in a matter of seconds.

"I said no!" I yell as I push him away. I see the rest of his friends were watching the whole thing and they start running over. Frantic, I turn around and start running to my car as fast as I can. I'm about 5 yards from my car when I slip on frozen water on the sidewalk. I land on my hands and knees and turn to see just the creep who put his hands on me running toward me. I reach for my backpack but remember that I haven't unpacked my pepper spray yet.

Suddenly, I violent gush of wind pushes him to the middle of the street, knocking him on the ground. I wonder where the rest of his group is and in the distance, around where I started running, I see something I've never seen before. It looks like a mini snow tornado surrounding them inside. They are panicked and can't find their way out.

As the other guy is still on the ground, probably recovering from the blow of his fall, I stand up and rush over to my car. Surprisingly, the severity of the storm isn't making it hard to see where I am going. It seems like there is a straight path to my car. I get in the driver's seat and I look in the rear view mirror. The first thing I notice is that the storm has died down, and the snow is falling in a calm fashion. The second thing I notice is the guy standing in the middle of the road. I wonder why he isn't following me. It looks as if he's struggling to get out of something, and I look at his feet. They look to be covered in a shiny substance.

_Ice? No that can't be possible..._

I turn to the driving wheel and I see a dark silhouette in the shadows. It looks like a boy with a hood, leaning with his arms crossed on the streetlamp,but I can't make out the top half of his face. I can just see his smile, which seemed mischievous and accomplished. I knew that smile, but it wasn't a time to start reminiscing. I wiped my eyes from the tears that began to form and I put my head down to put the key in the ignition. When I look back up at the road, the boy isn't there. I start my car in drive and head home.


	3. Chapter 3

So I drove straight home, but I didn't tell my mom about Mr. Hobo and his friends. It's was already gonna be hard to be here without her worrying about me 24/7. I gave my mom the oil and went straight to my room. I take off my jacket, kick off my boots and lay on my bed.  
_  
"Who was that guy by the streetlamp?" _I think.

_"He looked like J-...no that's ridiculous. It must've just been a kid with the same facial structure as him. That's all. That's it..._

but that smile..."

As soon as I think that, I feel a cool breeze on my cheek. I mean, it wasn't just cool, it was freezing_. _It gave me the goosebumps. I sit up and run to the window. It's closed shut.

_Maybe the air is on?_

I think in more of a question than statement because I don't believe it myself. I walk over to my doorway.

"Mom! Do you have the air on? It's freezing!"

"Are you kidding?! Why would I have the air conditioning on in this weather?!" My mom yells back.

"It's actually pretty warm down here." she adds.

I step outside my doorway and she's right. It had to be at least 80 degrees in the house. But when I step inside my room it feels like around 50.

"Are you alright?!" My mom calls back up to me.

I start to wonder that myself. It takes me a few moments before I decide what to say.

"Yea, I'm alright! I just left the window open in my room!' I lied

"Okay well dinner is about ready. Come down and get your plate!"

"Alright!" I say as I head back into my room. I walk back over to my bedroom window to make sure it's completely closed, which it is. I sigh.

"Whatever.." I say to myself and start back out my room. As I step outside my doorway I swear I hear a chuckle. _His _chuckle. I stop in my tracks and take a few breathers.

_Come on, it's just my imagination going crazy. Get it together._

I close my bedroom door behind me and meet my mom downstairs for dinner.

***  
The next morning which was the 16th of December marked the first whole day I'll spend back here in Cedar. I check my IPhone and see it's 10am. God, it was great to be able to sleep in.

I wipe the sleep out of my eyes and grab my glasses. I walk down my hallway toward the bathroom and I hear voices downstairs in the dining room. I can hear my mom's voice and another women. I take a few steps down the stairs to hear better.

"Yea, I don't know. I don't think she's adjusted to him not being here.." my mom says.

"Hmm..I don't think any of us has _adjusted _yet." the women says and it's then when I know who she is. It's Jacqueline.

"Jackie, I'm sorry. Don't take it like that." my mom says her voice full of regret. I can only imagine how Jacqueline is doing. I know it's almost been a year, but it only feel like yesterday Jack was around. Maybe that explains why I've been hallucinating. The memories are still fresh.

I really didn't want to talk to Jackqueline. Have that awkward moment between us. I never really went over Jack's house unless Jack was home, so me and his mom we're close but that was when Jack was alive. What would I have to say to her now?

_"Hey Aunt Jackie, how are you holding up? Hey Aunt Jackie, how often do you think about Jack? All the time? So do I."_

I can't come up with a decent topic to talk to her about without bringing Jack up. As I shift my weight on the stairs, the wood steps creek.

_"_Oh shit.._" _I say to myself as I try to rush back upstairs and realize that there wouldn't be a point. I would have to face the music sometime.

"Kat? You up?!" My mom called.

"Yea, I just got up." I say rubbing my eyes as I walked downstairs so they couldn't tell in my eyes that I was lying.

"Well Jackie is here. Come say hi." my mom said as I made a right turn as I hit the bottom of the staircase. I slowly walked down the hallway toward the front door, which to the right of it was our dining room. I quickly try to think of what to say, how to look.

_Should I smile like everything is fine and I've already recovered? Or should I just look her straight in the eyes and say "I miss him too"?  
_  
I'm already a few steps from the room and I still haven't come up with anything. So I decided to do what I do best these situations. Wing it.

"Yea, she just came back yesterday. She already looks like such an adult." I hear my mom say.

"Really mom? I've only been gone 6 months!" I say jokingly as I walk into the room.

"Oh hey! Jackie just wanted to see you before you headed out for the day."

I look over at Jackqueline and a lump forms in my throat. Looking at her reminds me of Jack since he favored her. But there have been some unpleasant additions added since I've been gone. There are now bags sitting under her once glowing hazel eyes. It looks like shes lost weight also. Looks like she's dropped a few pants sizes, and I don't think this was the result of a healthy diet. She grew out bangs and wears a single braid down her hair. It's weird because before I left, her and Jack could be mistaken for brother and sister, now she actually looks like a mom.

"Hey Aunt Jackie." I say as I wave. She gives me a half smile, and I can't help but to walk over to her and give her a hug. For some reason, our hug isn't a quick one. It lasts for about 10 seconds. It was like we knew what we wanted to say each other but instead of speaking it we did it through embrace.

_"How are you holding up?" _I feel her say.  
_  
"Not good, I cry every night when I think of him."_

"It's okay I think of him all the time. Remember, running away won't stop the memories from coming."

"I know. I'm sorry for leaving."

"It's okay, your here now. Everything will get better."

"How do you know?"

"Because everything always turns out right in the end, if you allow it"

After what seemed like an eternity we break our hug and look at each other. We both nodded to each other like everything that needed to be said, was.

"So.." my mom sounding like she wasn't sure if she was interrupting something or not.

"What are you planning on doing today, Kat?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm not really sure. I was thinking about catching up with a few people, but I don't know."

"Yea that sounds like a good idea." My mom said before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Oh, Jane would love to see you. She asked about you a couple of times while you were away." Jackqueline said.

Geez, I totally forgot about Jack's sister Jane. I can only imagine how hard it must for her. Being 10 years old and witnessing your brothers drowning no doubt took a toll on her.

"Oh, really? How is she?" I ask.

"Well.." Jackqueline says with a sigh.

"Let's just say some days are better than others."

I nod. I knew what she ment all too well.

"Where is she? I can hang out with her a little bit before I start my day."

"Oh she's outside. I made her go and play with her friends. It's winter, she should be having fun at this time, not staying in the house thinking about last year. "

After Jackqueline said this she looks down at her coffee mug and rubs her index finger along the lining of her coffee mug. I thought I had better step in before this goes down a road I don't want her on.

"Oh okay.." I say with a peppy smile.

"..I'll hang out with her and her little friends. I can catch up with everyone. They all seemed to like me a lot" Which was weird because I wasn't much a 'kid' person. Jack was perfect with interacting with the kids of the neighborhood. I was just there to be his sidekick.

"Okay, sounds good. So you gonna leave right now?" my mom asks.

"Yea why not?" I say.

"Alright, well don't forget to take your scarf and jacket and-"

"Mom, wasn't that you that called me 'such an adult'? I'll be fine." I say with a smile. I walk away from them and sigh.

_Well, that went way better than I thought_

As I walk up the stairs I remember that I have to pee...badly.

I stepped outside my house and the first thing I noticed was that even though the sun was shining, it was still snowing, but ever so lightly. I looked across the street and saw Jamie Finnick and his friends hanging out in his front yard. I spot a huge snow ball on the ground. As I look at the kids, it seems like they are all searching for something. I see the Donovan twins with twigs in hand, Cupcake with an armful of rocks and Jamie with a hat and scarf in hand.

"Snowman" I say to myself and smile.

I put my hands in my jacket pockets and start walking over toward them.

Jamie is the first to see me as I'm crossing the street.

"Kat! Hey, look you guys! Kat's here!" He says pointing to me. Everyone lifts their heads to look at me and I hear cheers from everyone. I start to feel my cheeks turn red. I never really liked being the center of attention. That was Jack's thing. Next thing I know, it feels like all the kids in the neighborhood are surrounding me asking me questions.

"How's college?!"

"How long are you staying in Cedar?"

"Do you miss Jack?" said Joshua Stiles. Everyone was suddenly quiet and looked at him.

"What? I wanted to know!" He said shrugging his shoulders. Cupcake hit him on the shoulder, knocking his glasses off. Poor kid, he hasn't learned what questions are appropriate to ask whereas, everyone else seemed to get the picture.

I sighed and put on a warm smile as I knelled down to them.

"Okay, to answer all your questions. College is awesome, I'm staying for 3 weeks, and.."

I pause..

"...yes I do. Very much."

As I said that, I look into the huge eyes of the children around me and see the same look. Sympathy.

I think of a way to shift this conversation.

_What would Jack do? What would Jack do? _I think..

I stand up and look over to what would soon be the body for a snowman.

"So, what is that supposed to be?" I ask like I'm oblivious.

"That's our snowman!" Jamie proclaims.

I walk over to the huge snowball and look down at it.

"I don't know, I always thought snowman had arms. And a hat. And a face." I list off jokingly.

"Well we're not done!" Jamie said correcting me.

"I'm getting the hat and snarf." he says.

" We have the sticks!" the twins announce.

"And I have the rocks!" Cupcake says proudly.

I laugh "Look at you guys working together. That's cool."

"Yea, we wanna be done by night time." Joshua said rushing toward the snowball and started building another one.

I shield my eyes from the sun and look at the sky.

"Well...you guys better hurry. It's almost noon." I say with caution.

At that moment, everyone looked at each other as if I pointed out something they hadn't realized. Everyone scattered, running to whatever job they were supposed to be doing. At the moment, I realize the person I came out here for wasn't in sight. I walk over to Jamie, who was currently entertaining his friends wearing the top hat and scarf. I tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey Jamie." I say.

he turns around quickly.

"Huh?"

"Umm...do you know where Jane is? Her mom said she was out here."

"Oh, she's umm-" He turns around searching.

"Over there." He said pointing. He was pointing about 2 houses down. Jane was walking on the curb.

"She doesn't hang out with us a lot anymore.." he said looking up at me.

At that moment, the Donovan twins call Jaime over and his attention is shifted over to his friends. I look over at Jane and sigh. I realize that this is probably what I was acting like. I slowly walk over to her and notice her small footprints in the snow. At first, they are firm and solid steps, and slowly they start to drag. Before I know it, I'm standing above her while she sits on the curb.

"Jane?"

She looks up at me and her eyes widen, like she had seen a ghost. Hell, I might as well have been dead to everyone the last time I was here.

"Kitty!" she proclaimed. She rushed to stand up and wrapped her arms around me. She had my arms pinned down as she embraced me.

I started to think of the time she first gave me my nickname. Jack and I were 10 years old and she was about 3. I went over to his house and we went up to Jane's nursery. When we entered her room, Jack's face lit up. His eyes were no longer filled with worries. He wasn't thinking about test we had the next day. He wasn't thinking about how much he hated Greg. He wasn't thinking about why his own father had left when _he_ was a baby. He was thinking about her. He pulled Jane up from her crib and held her on his hip. He made funny faces at her and blew raspberries into her face as she laughed.

"Jane? Jane, look..."

He pointed at me and she followed his finger and looked at me.

"That's Kat..see? That's Kat." he said with a smile. I awkwardly try and wave to her with a smile.

Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. As if she didn't understand.

"Kat. Like a kitty." Jack said.

"Kit-ty?" she said in 2 syllables.

"Yea! Kitty! Very good!" Jack said in a congratulatory tone, sounding like a parent. I remember giggling at how funny he sounded and he glared at me.

"Kitty? Kitty! Kitty!" Jane yelled.

"Hey! Why does she say your name better than mine?!" Jack complained. I laughed.

"I don't know. Maybe she likes me better." I joke. He glared at me.

"Yea right." he said with a smirk. And I knew he was right. She loved Jack.

As I came back to reality, I notice that I lost feeling in my arms. I look down and notice that Jane was still hugging me.

"Jane?" I say.

"Huh?" she said looking up at me with her big brown eyes.

"I can't feel my arms." I say with a smile.

"Ooh, sorry" she said pulling away quickly. I chuckle and rub my arms to get the feeling back.

"It's alright.." I say with a smile.

"So what are you doing?" I ask her.

"Oh nothing." she said looking down at her footprints.

"Well, why aren't you hanging out with your friends? They're over there makin' a snowman."

She shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know, I don't feel like it."

I frown and kneeled down to her eye level.

I pull some of her long hair behind one of her ears and sigh.

"Jane?"

"Yea?" she says with a smile. Just happy to see my face.

"Umm...how are you doing?" I ask her with a serious face. She's smart enough to know what I ment. After a few moments, her eyes became watery, and she wiped her tears.

"Hey,come here.." I grab her and embrace her in a hug.

"It's gonna be alright okay?" I say as I rub the back of her head as she wept.

"Okay? I'm here if you wanna talk or anything okay?"

She pulls away and I see a tear trail on her cheek.

"Hey, you better wipe that off before it freezes" I joke with a smile. She laughs and wipes her cheek.

"Okay, so can you promise me that you'll have some fun with your friends...at least while I'm here?" I ask seriously.

"But why?" she asks, not understanding.

"Because, I don't want you end up,like..." I was gonna say _like me_, but I didn't think that would give her the right idea.

"...end up not happy. Your a kid. During this time your supposed to be having fun with your friends. Okay?" she nods her head.

She sighs "Alright Kitty" she says with a reassuring smile.

"There ya go! Come here." I say as I drag her into another hug. She laughs.

As we're hugging, I look over her shoulder and I see him.

Jack.

He was sitting on top of a snow covered car. He didn't notice me, but he was watching the kids, who had managed to get into a snowball fight. He had his head covered with a hood with his hands in his pockets. and I knew I was going nuts. All of a sudden I hear Jane's voice..

"Kat? Kat?" she said shaking me.

"Huh? What?" I didn't even notice that I completely zoned out.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. I looked back to the snowy car. There was nothing there of course.

"N-nothing" I say with a smile.

"Now, go play with your friends." I say as I shove her toward the rest of the children.

"Alright!" she laughs as she runs away. I look back toward the car and, of course, nothing was there.

***  
The rest of the day, I kept thinking about what I saw. I felt like I was going crazy. When I got home, I went straight to my room and laid down on my bed. I sighed as a tear ran down my cheek because I knew that I couldn't talk to anyone about how I was feeling. I couldn't say

"_You know, I sometimes see my dead best friend around the neighborhood_"

Yea right. They would send me to the closest nut house in Jersey. I felt alone.

As I wept, I started to hear a cracking. It was a cracking of ice. I stood up and followed the sound to my bedroom window. In the lower corner of the window was a part that was frosted with ice.

That wasn't the strange part.

The strange part was when I turned around, I heard a wiping sound. I turned back to the window and saw in the frost:

_Wuss_

My heart started beating fast and my breathing quickened. I suddenly felt a cold breeze against my back. I turned around and...

I saw him.

Jack was standing right in front of me. At least I thought it was him. The only things that were different about him were that his eyes were an icy blue and his hair was snow white. He was wearing the same jacket I had seen him earlier in. A navy blue sweatshirt with a hood and brown skinny jeans.

He stood there in front of me with one of his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

"Hey.." he said with a slight wave.

That is the last thing I remembered before I fainted...


	4. Chapter 4

When I came back to reality, I thought what happened was dream. I hoped it was a dream, because if not, I would probably be considered insane.

I opened my eyes, and as they focused, I rolled over toward my window and hoped there would be nothing there. The first thing I noticed when I turned is was pitch dark outside. I had to have been out for a few hours. Snow was softly falling outside. My vision was as clear as it was going to get without having my glasses on. I sat up upon my elbow and looked on the ground to where I fell...and then I realized...

_How did I get on my bed?_

I then thought my mom must have put me in bed. I must be driving her mad.

With no sign of my glasses, I turned my head to my nightstand and there they were. I sat up and put them on. I reached for my phone and checked the time. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was 11pm.

_How could I have slept more than 10 hours?! _

As I stared at my phone replaying the moments I remember before passing out, I hear someone clear their throat. I didn't want to turn around. I was not only afraid of what I would see, but how I would feel.

I slowly turn around, and sure enough, Jack was there. Sitting on my desk.

"Gee, I thought you would never look over here!" he said with a grin on his face. As I opened my mouth to scream, he rushed over to my bed and covered my mouth with both of his hands. He chuckled and brought his face in front of me.

"Okay, okay I know your freaked out. But screaming isn't going to help. I mean, your mom is just going to come up here and she's not see me and she's gonna think you've went batty." he said rolling his eyes.  
"So, I'm going going to explain everything to you, if you promise not to scream. Look at me.."

His eyebrows came together and his icy eyes turned serious.

"...nod if you promise not to scream."

I honestly didn't know what to do. I was so confused. My hallucinations had never been this interactive. The only reason I questioned if this was a dream or not was because Jack's hands were so _cold._They weren't cold enough to hurt me, but they were freezing. His face gave me the same look every time he wanted me to keep my mouth shut so it would keep him from getting in trouble. Honestly, if I was going crazy, I didn't care.

I nodded my head slightly.

Jack let out a sigh of relief and took his hands away from my mouth. He laid down on my bed and put his hands behind his head casually. I stood up and started pacing back and forth. I ran my hands through my hair. Jack laughed. I turned my head toward him.

"What's so funny?" I snapped.

"You are..." He said with a smirk.

"I mean, you're just the same as when I left."

I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"Wow, I guess I am insane."

"Kat, don't ya get it yet? Your not crazy." Jack said standing up.

"I mean you are, but not _crazy_ crazy..." He said jokingly. He stood in front of me.

"Well, I don't know.." I say "This seems pretty nutty to me.."

"Okay, since you don't believe me. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't believe I'm real." Jack put his hands on my cheeks and looked me in the eyes. As I looked into his eyes, he seemed so real. His face, his eyes, and even his presence. For some reason, this didn't seem like a dream anymore.

This was real.

All of a sudden my body was filled with an emotion. It wasn't happiness or joy, but anger. I suddenly shoved Jack away and he fell back, surprised.

"Where the hell have you been all this time?!" I yelled.


End file.
